Chapter 943: Chapter 631: Twelve [02] Birthday and Dowry

The end of the year is approaching once again.

Over the course of a year, Nora Scott transformed from an unknown little figure into a universally recognized top influencer, capturing the public’s attention for an entire year.

After the art exhibition, Nora Scott’s phone was overwhelmed with calls, and some even came to her doorstep. Fed up, Nora changed her phone number and moved from her home to Pedro Langley’s next door, finally getting some peace and quiet.

December 24th.

Last night, Nora video chatted with Hardy Rivers about the blueprints of Mechanism City until two in the morning, then was forcibly carried back to bed by Pedro Langley. She was complaining that Pedro’s antics interrupted her work passion, yet she fell asleep the moment she hit the pillow.

When she woke up, it was daylight.

Feeling groggy, Nora reached out next to her but found nothing. She squinted and looked, realizing Pedro was already gone.

She sat up.

At that moment, the door opened, and Pedro looked in, "Awake?"

"Yeah."

Pedro stood at the door, "Get up and have breakfast."

Nora raised her hand to rub her temples, "What time is it?"

"Nine o’clock."

"Oh."

After six or seven hours of sleep, that seemed sufficient. Nora closed her eyes to wake up fully for two more minutes, then got up to wash.

When she shuffled into the living room in her slippers, she saw Pedro place a bowl of noodles on the table.

Nora leaned closer, hugging Pedro’s waist, standing on tiptoe to rest her head on his shoulder before glancing at the bowl he brought, "Longevity Noodles?"

"Yes." Pedro was confident, "I’ve improved this year."

"..."

Nora recalled his misplaced confidence from the previous year and momentarily didn’t respond.

Indeed, the bowl of Longevity Noodles was better than she had expected.

Putting down the chopsticks, Pedro urged her, "Eat quickly."

"Oh."

Nora let go of him, pulled out a chair, sat down, and picked up her chopsticks.

A single noodle, very long, obviously was made with a ruler and scissors like last year. But, the appearance did show progress.

Lifting the noodle, Nora suddenly thought of something and smirked as she looked at Pedro, "How many times did you fail?"

Pedro kept a straight face, "I didn’t fail."

Smiling, Nora glanced at the kitchen, raising an eyebrow, "Didn’t take out the trash, did you?"

"...Seven times."

"Wasteful."

Mumbling, Nora lowered her head to eat the noodles.

But after just one bite, she paused, blinking as her eyes felt slightly misty. She looked up to see Pedro leaning on the table, watching her intently and nervously.

"What’s wrong?" Pedro asked puzzled, "Is the taste off?"

Nora asked, "Did Easton give you the family recipe?"

"..." Bemused for a second, Pedro realized, sighed in relief, then squeezed her cheek with a smile, nodding, "Yes."

"When was that?" Nora asked, confused.

Pedro replied, "The day you gave me your marriage gift."

At that time, he and Antonio Easton had talked for two hours.

Aside from one special event, most of the conversation was Antonio explaining things about Nora.

What Nora liked, disliked, her habits, what to be mindful of...so many things. Pedro, afraid to forget, recorded it all and occasionally plays it back when he remembers. He knows it by heart now.

"..." Nora thought it over carefully, recalling the event, then quickly asked, "By the way, where’s my marriage gift?"

"I’ll show you when you finish your noodles."

"...Oh."

It’s been over a year, so she’s not bothered about waiting a little longer.

For as long as she could remember, Nora used to eat Antonio’s Longevity Noodles every year. It’s a deeply rooted memory. She thought that after Antonio’s departure, she wouldn’t taste them again, but Pedro managed to learn about seventy percent, tasting very similar.

In secret, he must have failed more than seven times. 𝐟𝚛𝕖𝚎𝕨𝗲𝐛𝚗𝐨𝐯𝐞𝕝.𝐜𝗼𝗺

Grateful, Nora not only finished the noodles but ate all the broth too.

"Master Langley——"

Putting down the bowl and chopsticks, Nora turned her head, eager for her marriage gift.

The next moment, she saw Pedro come out of the study, carrying a very large box, roughly estimated to be one meter in all dimensions.

"A file bag, and you’re packing it in such a big box?" Nora couldn’t help but tease, "It’s so extravagant, is it necessary?"

After she finished, she felt something was off—

She was surprised, "It also looks quite heavy."

"..."

Pedro gave her a silent glance, lowering the box to the floor with a dull thud.

Nora: "..."

A mere file bag shouldn’t make such a sound.

"The file bag was my thank-you gift." Pedro tapped the box and said to Nora, "Your marriage gift is separate."

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